PA official condemns attacks on Christian village by Fatah gunmen

Headline: “Ghannam: The [PA] president and prime minister’s instructions are that civil peace is a red line”

“Ramallah and El-Bireh District Governor Laila Ghannam emphasized that [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas and [PA] Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh’s orders are that civil peace is a red line, and that the rule of law is the roof under whose shade we all take shelter.

Ghannam explained that the social conflicts that are taking place from time to time in Palestine stem from diverse causes, which do not include any religious causes as the Muslims and Christians in Palestine are one unit and partners in the national struggle and path. Ghannam took advantage of her presence and the presence of [PA] District Police Director Tareq Al-Haj yesterday [April 26, 2019] among the residents of Jifna in order to bless them for the holy Sabbath and the Easter holiday…

She also emphasized that the actions that lone people carried out against respected people of Jifna (see note below –Ed.) are unacceptable, and that they will exert the full weight of the law against the criminals. She conveyed the blessings of President Abbas and the prime minister to the dignitaries of Jifna, and emphasized the leadership’s constant instructions to protect the dignity of every Palestinian person, their security, and their peace.”

The article’s mention of “actions that lone people carried out against residents of Jifna” apparently refers to an incident on April 26, 2019, in which a group of armed men led by a Fatah member who was a candidate in the 2016 Fatah Revolutionary Council elections entered the mainly Christian village of Jifna and attacked homes with gunfire, firebombs, and rocks while calling out anti-Christian slurs, according to Palestinian media reports.